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Data: Fair

Dimethyl Mea

  • This ingredient’s score is higher if used in products that are inhalable (e.g., sprays, powders) because of respiratory concerns.
  • Products with the EWG VERIFIED mark have met use restrictions and warnings based on EWG review of company data.

IMAGE SOURCE: PubChem

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Other Concerns

Use restrictions (high), Non-reproductive organ system toxicity (low), Multiple, additive exposure sources (low), Ecotoxicology (low), and Occupational hazards (high)

SYNONYMS

● 2-DIMETHYLAMINOETHANOL
● DIMETHYL MEA
● DIMETHYL(HYDROXYETHYL)AMINE
● DMAE
● ETHANOL, 2(DIMETHYLAMINO)
● N,N-DIMETHYLETHANOLAMINE

Restricted

Restricted: EWG VERIFIED products cannot contain this ingredient without adequate substantiation


Dimethyl MEA is an amine.

Common concerns

See how this product scores for common concerns.

  • LOW
    Cancer
  • MODERATE
    Allergies & Immunotoxicity
  • LOW
    Developmental and Reproductive Toxicity
  • HIGH
    Use Restrictions

Ingredient concerns

  • CONCERNS
  • DATA SOURCES

Products with this Ingredient

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facial moisturizer/treatment10 products
serums & essences8 products
facial cleanser7 products
toners/astringents4 products
moisturizer3 products
around-eye cream2 products
mask2 products
conditioner1 products
anti-aging1 products
1 products
makeup primer1 products
after shave1 products
lip balm1 products
hand cream1 products

Use restrictions

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Violation of government restrictions - Restricted in cosmetics; use, concentration, or manufacturing restrictions - anyOpen scientific literature
Restricted in cosmetics (recommendations or requirements) - use, concentration, or manufacturing restrictions - anyCosIng

Occupational hazards

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Allowed workplace exposures restricted to low dosesCPS&Q - Classification & Labelling

Allergies/immunotoxicity

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Human any toxicant or allergen - strong evidenceOpen scientific literature
Limited evidence of immune toxicity or allergiesAssociation of Occupational and Environmental Clinics

Multiple, additive exposure sources

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Used in food or as an additive with limited or no toxicity information availableFDA Everything Added to Food

Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive)

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Classified as toxic or harmfulOpen scientific literature
Limited evidence of immune toxicityNational Library of Medicine HazMap
Classified as not expected to be potentially toxic or harmfulEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Ecotoxicology

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Wildlife and environmental toxicityOpen scientific literature
Not suspected to be an environmental toxinEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Miscellaneous

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Occupational hazards related to handlingCPS&Q - Classification & Labelling

Persistence and bioaccumulation

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CONCERN REFERENCE
Not suspected to be persistentEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List
Not suspected to be bioaccumulativeEnvironment Canada Domestic Substance List

Data gaps

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CONCERN REFERENCE
695 studies in PubMed science library may include information on the toxicity of this chemicalNLM PubMed
  • Open scientific/peer reviewed literature
  • European Commission. 2013. Cosing, the European Commission database with information on cosmetic substances and ingredients. Accessed on March 1, 2013 at http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/cosmetics/cosing/ .
  • CPS&Q (Consumer Products Safety & Quality) formely known as ECB (European Chemicals Bureau). 2008. Classification and Labelling: Chemicals: Annex VI of Directive 67/548/EEC through the 31st ATP.
  • AOEC (Association of Occupational and Environmental Clinics). 2009. AEOC exposures codes and asthmagen designation.
  • FDA (U.S. Food and Drug Administration). 2008. EAFUS [Everything Added to Food]: A Food Additive Database. FDA Office of Food Safety and Applied Nutrition.
  • NLM (National Library of Medicine). 2006. HazMap — Occupational Exposure to Hazardous Agents.
  • EC (Environment Canada). 2008. Domestic Substances List Categorization. Canadian Environmental Protection Act (CEPA) Environmental Registry.
  • NLM (National Library of Medicine). 2012. PubMed online scientific bibliography data. http://www.pubmed.gov.

Understanding scores

Cosmetics and personal care products are not required to be tested for safety before being allowed on the market. The Skin Deep® scoring system was designed to help the public understand whether a product is safe to use or whether it contains ingredients of concern.

Every product and ingredient in Skin Deep gets a two-part score – one for hazard and one for data availability. The safest products score well by both measures, with a low hazard rating and a fair or better data availability rating.

HOW WE DETERMINE SCORES

Hazard score

The Skin Deep ingredient hazard score, from 1 to 10, reflects known and suspected hazards linked to the ingredients. The EWG VERIFIED® mark means a product meets EWG’s strictest criteria for transparency and health.

Score legend

Data availability

The Skin Deep data availability rating reflects the number of scientific studies about the product or ingredient in the published scientific literature.

NONE LIMITED FAIR GOOD ROBUST
Low Availability
Moderate Availability
High Availability

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